Lightweight Howa Mini Builds - .223 Rem & 6.5 Grendel

[Loper]

Cures quickly, sands fairly well.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/J-B-WELD-J-B-Weld-0-85-oz-MarineWeld-Adhesive-Syringe/1002653732

Stripping pad for texture

https://www.lowes.com/pd/3M-4-Pack-3-375-in-x-5-in-Coarse-Steel-Wool/1000101245

This is after I removed the tape and blended the edges (poorly) with a gloved finger.
View attachment 568995

Wow…I’m an idiot. Can’t believe I overlooked that in the post. Thank you for taking the the time to repost. I may have to try that on a stock I’m working on.

 

[4090Sharps]

Wow…I’m an idiot. Can’t believe I overlooked that in the post. Thank you for taking the the time to repost. I may have to try that on a stock I’m working on.

No problem! This was my first time trying something like this. There may be better adhesives, but the Marineweld was available and seemed like a good fit for the application. It sets quickly, so you can wait 30 seconds to a minute and it will firm up perfectly to raise a pattern with the stripping pad.

I was going to use a sponge, but saw the pad in the store and thought it would work well. And it did, it exceeded my expectations.

 

[Loper]

No problem! This was my first time trying something like this. There may be better adhesives, but the Marineweld was available and seemed like a good fit for the application. It sets quickly, so you can wait 30 seconds to a minute and it will firm up perfectly to raise a pattern with the stripping pad.

I was going to use a sponge, but saw the pad in the store and thought it would work well. And it did, it exceeded my expectations.

How is the texture? Is it too rough at all? Did you have to sand it down at all to smooth it out a bit?

 

[4090Sharps]

How is the texture? Is it too rough at all? Did you have to sand it down at all to smooth it out a bit?

Grippy. Not too rough, the peaks of the grip pattern settled a little due to the consistency of the epoxy when I raised the pattern.

If I waited longer into the epoxy setup, or used an epoxy with thicker consistency, I’d imagine it would need sanding. I did sand the the edges to try to blend some of the harsh transitions between the plain stock and grip areas.

You could always do a test surface before applying to the stock to see what you think.

 

[Loper]

Thank you for the info!

 

[4090Sharps]

I got my hands on 500 pieces of Starline brass for the 6mm ARC off of their first run, and loaded up a few rounds last night to test out some of my first handloads with this caliber. Initial accuracy left a little to be desired (1.5 MOA avg) due to seating depth issues I had with the returned-today Frankford Arsenal Universal Seating die. I don't know if the Frankford die is just junk or if there is a case compatibility issue, but I'm not alone in having issues with it. With the short case and long bullets, I had to use the skinniest, longest stem in the kit, with the die screwed almost as far as it could in my press.

Those rounds loaded after I identified the issue with the FA die shot much better.

I pieced together a 6mm ARC neck expander die using a short Lyman M-die body with a button from a .243 Win (long body) M-die since Lyman doesn't have a one specific to the 6mm ARC available yet.

Load Info:

• 108gr Hornady ELD-M
• 29.0gr CFE223
• COAL 2.245"
• Avg Velocity 2636 fps
• CCI Small Rifle Primers
• Starline 6mm ARC brass
• 18" Bolt action rifle

I could have pushed the performance bounds a bit for a bolt action rifle according to Hornady's load data, but I want the option to shoot these in an AR-15. Hornady's data puts this load roughly at 2575 fps out of an 18" AR-15 barrel, and ~2625 fps out of a 24" bolt action rifle. Maybe shooting suppressed is adding a little velocity, but I wouldn't have anticipate that much, especially considering I'm currently using a 36 cal suppressor on the rifle (come on ATF, approve my AB Raptor 10 permission slip!).

For an additional point of reference, I'm averaging 2650 fps with the Hornady 108 gr ELD-M factory load out of the same rifle.